The musings, recipes and adventures of a girl that loves to eat

Braised Brussel Sprouts

January 21, 2010

There are two ways that I know how to cook brussel sprouts: roast them in the oven or zap them in the microwave. But braised brussels sprouts? What?

Braising is essentially just cooking a protein or vegetable in some liquid. It’s “the thing to do” this time of year, what with the cold weather and what-have-you. You can even braise stuff in water. It also takes far less time to braise veggies than it does to braise meat, which makes it a convenient way to not only cook vegetables, but to add flavor as well.

That being said, Nate proclaimed brussel sprouts braised in cream to be the best brussel sprouts he’d ever eaten. They were really good (although when has cream every made anything taste bad??). I think I’ll stick to roasting brussel sprouts in the oven and save the cream-braising for a special occasion, but if you’re looking for a new way to dress up your brussel sprouts, this is about as perfect as it gets.

cup heavy cream (You could use light cream or half and half without too many negative effects)

1/2

teaspoon table salt

Pinch fresh ground nutmeg

Ground black pepper

Bring sprouts, cream, and salt to boil in 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Lower heat, cover, and simmer (shaking pan once or twice to redistribute sprouts) until knife tip inserted into a brussels sprout center meets no resistance, 10 to 12 minutes. Season with nutmeg and pepper and serve.